Duncan Hines by Louis Hatchett

Author:Louis Hatchett
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780813144832
Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky

14

LET’S WATCH HIM EAT

Hines had a considerable influence on the fortunes of many establishments offering lodging to travelers. His files contained many letters from proprietors whose businesses had literally been saved from bankruptcy thanks to a listing in Lodging for a Night. One elderly architect who invested his life’s savings in a Massachusetts lodge known as the Cape Cod Inn wrote Hines, “I was about to close my doors when a stream of guests appeared like the robins. They all carried the Duncan Hines books under their arms. You certainly saved our lives.” Had it not been for his penchant for “exceptional inns tucked away in mills or barns or distinctive old homes” many of which were located off the main highways, no one would have ever found them.468

By 1947, Lodging for a Night had undergone a few changes. The introduction had been substantially shortened, and his voluble comments about motels had been reduced to two paragraphs. The motel industry had undergone significant changes since 1941; they were no longer little better than comfortable shacks.469 In his update on motels, Hines said “the modern motor court, when under competent management, offers the motorist the maximum convenience in pleasant and comfortable lodging accommodations. More and more of the deluxe type are being built throughout the country, having such conveniences as telephones, radios, electric razor outlets, air conditioning, carpeted floors, tile baths, etc., also private locked garages.” In short, they were far and away better than the prevailing norm when Hines began to compile his first volume. The increased trade that motels experienced during and after the war made it financially possible for their owners to offer an ever expanding number of luxuries.470

The war brought about this change. After America’s entry into the Second World War, motels began receiving a class of Americans who, beforehand, had never entered one. Up until that time the public had, by and large, stayed away in droves because they did not want to be associated with the “bounce-on-the-bed” trade, i.e., the type of people who kept many motels financially afloat. They also did not want to be identified entering what were sometimes viewed as legitimized houses of prostitution or convenient places to dump murder victims. Despite this aura that hung over the industry, during the war newer customers began to patronize motels in increasing numbers because, quite often, they had no choice; a motel was frequently the only place available to spend the night. More often than not, the newer customers came from a different economic and social class; and since they were from a more prestigious social milieu with more money to spend, motel owners began to take measures to ensure they would return as well as hope they would recommend it to their friends, who were, undoubtedly, also from similar economic and social circles. Assessing the type of trade that had been keeping their industry alive and deciding it was no longer economically healthy for them, motel owners began to screen the patronage of those they served.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.